Sunday, 31 July 2011

CHANCES of extending the gas pipeline from Dar es Salaam Mombasa look very slim after realisation by the Tanzania government that it would be more beneficial to construct a pipeline to the Lake Zone area through the Central Corridor.

According to senior government officials who are privy to the process, the Government wants to have the pipeline through Dodoma, Singida and other regions to run up to Mwanza built before any plans to extend it to Mombasa are taken on board.

"Local experts have convinced the government that it would be more advantageous to have the gas pipeline built through the Central Corridor than one that runs from Dar es Salaam through Tanga to Mombasa," said one of the officials who attended last months Sectoral Council on Energy meeting.

The official further said that even though the study for Dar es Salaam-Tanga-Mombasa pipeline was done whereby it showed the project was viable "the study noted that Dar es Salaam, from where Mombasa was to be connected, was having gas constraints but they still recommended the project was economically justified."

Friday, 22 July 2011

EXACTLY 30 days after the 2011/12 cotton buying season kicked off in the Western Cotton Growing Zone last month, the cash crop growers in Shinyanga, Mwanza, Mara and Kagera regions have pocketed 55bn/- out of at least 300bn/- that they initially envisaged to earn by the end of the season.

The crop buying season started on June 20, 2011, with cotton growers expecting to earn at least 300bn/- from the sale of over 250,000 tones of the cash crop at an average farm gate price of 1,100/- per kilogramme.

“The season is not good even though we have performed relatively better than last year in terms of the buying speed,” Tanzania Cotton Board (TCB) Director General Marco Mtunga told the 'Daily News' over a telephone interview from the lakeside city of Mwanza on Wednesday.

IN the past five years, 15 of the 25 Lake Victoria fish processing factories have closed down, the remaining are operating under capacity as greed depletes Nile perch and Tilapia on the world’s second largest fresh water body.

“We can’t close down, it’s not true,” said Harko Bhaghat, Chairman of Lake Victoria Fish Processors’ Association. Mr Bhagat said although fish stocks have depleted to record lows, suspending commercial fishing is not an option for any stakeholder.

“Logistically it’s not possible because it will hurt processors, the government and the fisherman most,” Bhaghat argued as Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Dr David Mathayo prepares to present his ministry’s 2011/12 budget estimates in Dodoma this week.

Riots are slowly becoming common way of life in Rock City, something that I guess has lingered on from last year’s polls.The ruins of CCM Isamilo building on Makongoro Road tells how there is a Benghazi in the making in Bongo.

But let me start from where I left, you remember I told about how that ride home came to an abrupt end. Well, only the careless driver got injured.

The poor fellow was hit on his face by the wind screen as the daladala crashed into the back of the truck.

I found my initial anger towards the driver evaporating when I saw his swollen face.

I actually found myself saying ‘ pole,’ to the guy something that irritated me on a second thought, it must have been a slip of the tongue.

LAST weekend witnessed one of the most serious riots in recent times, in the city of Mwanza, involving street traders. Millions worthy of property was destroyed. The incident was to some extent depicted as being politically motivated. On the other hand it attained racial tones, with most of the property that was destroyed belonging to the Indian community.

Given the political spectrum of Mwanza, it was easy for some key officials and politicians to blame this on political foment. Yet, our urban areas have a long history of resorting to forceful eviction of street traders only to realize that sometime after, the traders are back from where they were evicted. Regulating street trading has become a thorny issue.

Saturday, 16 July 2011

GENERATORS are meant to give a power backup in case of blackout, but the chronic power shortage in the country has condemned many people, particularly the business community and affluent class in cities and towns in several parts of the country who rely on generators.

A random survey by this paper revealed that most people who depend on generators for lighting houses and offices are not aware of the consequences generators can cause to the air and the environment.

Ms Gloria Kombe, a Senior Environmental Officer with the National Environmental Management Council (NEMC), says generators and motorcycles are two-stroke engines powered by a mixture of petrol or diesel and oil, but the fuel is not efficiently burnt.

MYSTERIOUS thefts of mechanical water metres have lately afflicted various clients of the Mwanza Urban Water and Sewerage Authority (MWAUWASA).
MWAUWASA Assistant Manager responsible for Public Relations, Mr Robert Masunya, told the Daily News on Saturday on Friday that 74 metres had been stolen from homes between June and July 13 this year.

The official said he did not understand what had prompted this wave of theft during such period of time. Mr Masunya mentioned places where the theft was rampant as Pasiansi, Kiseke, Nyakato and Lumala in Ilemela District; and Igoma in Nyamagama District.

THE city of Mwanza plans to construct two-lane ring roads from Pasiansi to Buzuruga and from Tunza Loop to the Airport at tarmac level in order to reduce motor vehicle congestion in the city centre.

Vehicle congestion in Mwanza has reached a critical level. When complete, the ring roads will see city residents heading for the Airport from Igoma, Nyakato and Buzuruga, reaching the airport without passing through the city centre. The project, which will partially be financed by the World Bank will cost 24.8bn/-.

The City Council in Mwanza expects to spend 1.28bn/- from the Road Fund on the ring roads including construction of bridges and crossings in 2011/12. The project will also see refurbishment of 18.3 kilometre roads in the city centre that will cost 24.8bn/-.

Sunday, 10 July 2011

A permanent solution to riots caused by petty traders in Mwanza city is unlikely to be found soon as the problem is compounded by multiple causes and vested interests.On the surface it may look political, but the problem goes far deeper than that, and encompasses the way towns and cities are planned in the country.

Speaking to journalists after the Tuesday riots sparked by a dispute over an area stretching less than thirty metres at the Makoroboi lane, Mwanza Regional Police Commander, Mr Simon Sirro said the violence was a consequence of political divisions within the city council.

“We were informed about an operation to remove petty traders by the city director’s office; our duty was to provide security, but to our surprise, other city council officials separately called hawkers’ leaders and told them to continue doing business at places where the police were deployed, regardless of the prohibition order issued earlier,” said Mr Sirro.

THE Minister for Home Affairs, Mr Shamsi Vuai Nahodha, has urged petty traders in Mwanza city to respect regulations and refrain from lawless activities which could plunge them into trouble.

The minister made the appeal on Saturday during a tour of three business places allocated for the city’s petty traders, namely Makoroboi, Buzuruga Bus Stand and Kiloleni.

Mr Nahodha’s abrupt visit to Mwanza has been prompted by fracas that erupted on Wednesday between the petty traders, the City Council militia and riot police following the traders’ reluctance to move to their new allocated places.

Saturday, 9 July 2011

The Mwanza city council authorities are blamed for fuelling violence among petty traders, city militia and the police in Wednesday’s fracas, it has been said.

During the fracas, seven people were wounded, shops and vehicles set on fire and property damaged.

The incongruity is alleged to have been caused by Mwanza city director Wilson Kabwe, who has not been involving Mwanza city mayor Josephati Manyerere (Chadema) in plans to remove vendors from the city centre.

Addressing reporters yesterday, Manyerere said the chaos that happened was a result of misunderstandings between him and the city director.

He said when the office of the city director planned to relocate the vendors who invaded a mosque and an Indian nursery school, he was not informed.

Friday, 8 July 2011

Police in Mwanza City have arrested 131 people in connection with the Tuesday riots by hawkers, that left one person dead and three others injured.

The Mwanza regional police commander, Mr Simon Sirro, told a news conference yesterday that preliminary investigations have revealed that the ammunition used during violent confrontations between the hawkers and law enforcers was that of shotguns normally owned by private individuals and city askaris.

“None of our officers fired a shot; and since victims were not shot by city askaris, our suspicion is that they must have been hit by bullets fired by private individuals who were determined to protect their properties from looters who were out to take advantage of the chaos and rob them,” said Mr Sirro.

The police chief explained that the law allows civilians to own the type of weapons that were used during the incident. These, weapons, he noted, are the same that are used by auxiliary police (militias) such as city askaris.

Mr Sirro had earlier blamed the incident on misunderstandings among the city council officials in areas which hawkers are allowed to go about their business.

MORE than 130 people have been arrested in Mwanza city following Wednesday clashes between defiant traders and riot police.

The Mwanza Regional Police Commander (RPC), Mr Simon Sirro, said on Thursday that 131 suspects had been taken into custody and would be screened to identify those who should stand trial.

Most shops and offices in the heart of the city that remained closed the whole of Wednesday were open yesterday and it was business as usual.

The RPC stressed that no one was killed in the unrest as it has been reported in some newspapers. He said only three people were injured after being hit by bullets and had been admitted to the Bungando Medical Centre (BMNC) in the city.